BlizzCon 2015 Overview: Panels, Attractions, Schedules

BlizzCon 2015 takes place on November 6th and 7th at the Anaheim Convention Center. We've put together this guide to everything you need to know about BlizzCon, and will be updating it throughout the event with links to our panel coverage.

BlizzCon Basics

BlizzCon 2015 takes place on November 6th and 7th at the Anaheim Convention Center, while badge pick-up and the BlizzCon Shop open on Thursday November 5th. A BlizzCon 2015 ticket is needed to enter the convention center.

BlizzCon features panels on each game, demos, eSports tournaments, a special BlizzCon shop, and contests.

You can watch all the events taking place on each stage with a Virtual Ticket (described in section below).

Virtual Ticket

Watch the convention at home with the Virtual Ticket, available for $39.99. The Virtual Ticket gives you access to the following:

Livestreams of the panels for all games, contests, Opening and Closing ceremonies, and eSports.

On-demand replays of content from all channels for 2 weeks after the event.

In-game goodies for all Blizzard games.

The BlizzCon Sale at the online gear shop, there are over 50 exclusive items. Sale runs through November 8th.

You need both an Internet Connection and Battle.net account to watch the stream.

All times listed in the Virtual Ticket are PST.

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft Legion was already announced at gamescom 2015, the first expansion to not be revealed at BlizzCon. However, Legion is not playable yet and there are many unrevealed details such as class changes, professions, transmog, and artifact weapons.

Panels:

World of Warcraft: Legion - World and Content Overview: 12:30-2pm, Friday, Main Stage

World of Warcraft Cinematics - The Road to Legion: 2:15-3:15pm, Friday, Panel Stage

World of Warcraft: Legion - Game Systems: 1-2pm, Saturday, Main Stage

World of Warcraft Q&A: 2:30-3:30pm, Saturday, Main Stage

eSports take place in Hall B:

Arena World Championship Group Play: 11:45-1:45pm, Friday

Arena World Championship Semifinals: 1:45-3:45pm, Friday

Arena World Championship Grand Final: 3:30-4:45pm, Saturday

World of Warcraft demos and signings also take place in Hall B.

The Warcraft trailer will also make its debut on November 6th in the Opening Ceremony:

In addition, the November 2015 card back will be revealed at BlizzCon.

Heroes of the Storm

BlizzCon 2014 announced a closed beta date, the Sky Temple map, and new heroes Jaina, Thrall, and Lost Vikings. Since then, the game has gone live, had the ESPN Heroes of the Dorm tournament, many new heroes, and the Eternal Conflict Diablo-themed event.Panels:

Heroes of the Storm: Hero Deep Dive: 2:15-3:15pm, Friday

Heroes of the Storm: Stage of the Game: 11:30am - 12:30pm, Saturday

Heroes of the Storm: Battlegrounds: 4-5pm, Saturday

eSports takes place in Hall B:

World Championship Group Play: 4-10pm, Friday

World Championship Semifinals: 9:45-12:45pm, Saturday

World Championship Grand Final: 12:45-3pm, Saturday

Heroes of the Storm demos and signings also take place in Hall B.

Overwatch

Overwatch was revealed at BlizzCon 2014, and since then, several more heroes were revealed and we finally started Closed Beta!

Main Stage Panels:

Overwatch: What's New: 4:45-5:45pm, Friday

The World of Overwatch: 11:30am-12:30pm, Saturday

We are likely to learn more about D.Va, a new hero teased as a former StarCraft champion now protecting her homeland.

Overwatch demos and signings take place in Hall C.

Diablo

Diablo is handled a bit differently this year; there's no demo area and only one panel (Blood and Treasure, 3:30-4:30pm Friday). While this likely means no big announcements like an expansion, the Diablo team has the creative Slaughtered Calf Inn.

This themed area, decorated to look like the in-game Act I inn, can be found in the Darkmoon Faire area in Hall A.

A full schedule of talks was not provided, but several developers are stopping by:

Want to hear John Yang chat about item design or Alex Sulman share an inside look at what makes a Treasure Goblin tick? We’ll have a full schedule of talks at the show or just swing by and enjoy some live music in between each short presentation!

Darkmoon Faire

Community Ampitheater

The Darkmoon Faire has a Community Amphitheatre where players can meet developers, community members, and streamers. It's also the location for the Engineering Panel, a panel that the community became very excited about after Blizzard staff tweeted about it.

There are also two WoW talks scheduled. These will not be available on the Virtual Ticket:

Friday, November 6, 2:45 p.m.

Scott Johnson, host of The Instance Podcast, will be kicking off casual conversation with lead narrative designer Dave Kosak and lead quest designer Craig Amai about how the rich fantasy of the Warcraft universe informs their design approach to Legion, from quest flow to artifact weapons and beyond. Additional WoW designers will be on-hand and anxious to join the discussion!

Following up on the Legion game systems panel Saturday afternoon, lead class designer Kris Zierhut and other members of the class/systems teams will be in the area to talk further with you about their presentation. If you plan on attending the main stage Q&A panel at this time, we still recommend you come by afterward equipped with your questions for the developers!

Pin Trading

Pin trading is a fun activity where players collect pins at Blizzard events and then swap them for missing ones. Some pins are very difficult to get, so people display the ones they have on a lanyard and hope they can make an exchange.

Players can purchase Season 2 blind packs from the BlizzCon shop, as well as a special Collector's Edition Alexstrasza only available from the Pin Trading booth.

The BlizzCon 2015 Pin Trading Booth is located in the Darkmoon Faire section of Hall A. Here are the official rules:

Players can make up to two trades each time they approach the board.Trades are one pin for one pin, and a gold pin can only be traded for another gold pin.This year the board will only be available for trading Series 1 & 2 Blizzard Collectible Pins.

Players can also trade pins with special Community Members who will be wearing lanyards filled with pins:

Trades are one pin for one pin, and a gold pin can only be traded for another gold pin.They will only accept Series 1 & 2 Blizzard Collectible Pins as trades for their pins.

Below are the shirts the Community Members will be wearing:

Blizzard pins will also be making a special appearance at the Wowhead party in addition to BlizzCon proper! We'll be giving away Season 2 pins and Cute but Deadly lanyards, have the full Season 2 set on display, and you may even catch some hard-to-find Season 1 packs at the event.

Contests

There are four contests at BlizzCon 2015: Movie, Original Art, Talent, and Costume.

The Contests take place on the Main Stage, 6-8:30pm Friday, and are hosted by Wil Wheaton. You can also find cosplayers walking around the convention during the day - ask before taking a picture or touching their costumes.

Other Attractions

This next section covers things you might not catch on a Virtual Ticket panel. If you're attending BlizzCon, be sure to check the following things out.

Artist Stage

Blizzard artists will be answering questions and providing live demonstrations on the Artists Stage, located between Halls A and B. They'll cover digital painting, traditional drawing, 3D modeling, FX, sculpture, and animation.

Blizzard Theater

The Blizzard Theater, located on Level 3, plays past cinematics from Blizzard games on a gigantic screen. With all the speculation that we'll see a Warcraft film trailer at BlizzCon, perhaps we can watch it at the Blizzard Theater.

Graffiti Wall

The graffiti wall, located between Halls B and C, is the place where attendees can leave their mark--sign their name, draw a picture, etc. This wall is then displayed at the Blizzard campus.

Hearthstone Tavern

The Hearthstone Tavern, located on the second floor of the convention center, is the first time players can get the Fireside Gathering pin. Here's how you can get the pin:

Recruiting Booth

The Blizzard recruiting booth, located between Halls B and C, lets you talk one-on-one with Blizzard recruiters. They can't accept resumes, but they will answer your questions and offer advice on job openings, best practices, and hiring process.

In past years, the job booth has been split by Students, Professionals, and Artists. Artists are welcome to show a portfolio quickly, but you must bring your own devices and have it be fully-charged.

Voice Actor Stage

The Voice Actor Stage, located in Hall A, has a packed schedule of panels and contests, as well as autograph sessions.

So You Think You Can Monster? lets players show off their best monster renditions, with a chance to record their sounds at Blizzard HQ. Auditions take place Friday night at 7pm, with judging Saturday from 5-6:30 pm.

Commenti

Commento di jacobwx77

on 2015-11-03T19:11:56-06:00

It is very obvious that Starcraft doesn't appeal to you much (which is fair enough), but if you're even remotely into starcraft you absolutely do not want to miss the Starcraft Exhibition and the WCS Global Finals. The Starcraft exhibition will include and Archon match between Nestea and Yellow against MVP and Boxer, all four of these are absolute legends and have been a huge part of making starcraft into an esports.

Commento di yzq85

@perc: The Warcraft movie trailer is CONFIRMED to be shown at Blizzcon. Please update.

Commento di Samfisher

on 2015-11-03T20:24:05-06:00

No Geoff Keighley? Man, so many changes this Blizzcon... And I'm not sure I'm liking any of this. No Jay Mohr or Chris Hardwick and no Geoff Keighley. I like my hosts unchanged please ):

Commento di Nulgar

on 2015-11-04T01:39:49-06:00

Did you plan to reserve this topic ID for this news item? :P The previous two IDs are news items as well, from 3 and 4 days ago ;)

Commento di Pektra

on 2015-11-04T04:29:31-06:00

One day I'll go, just to see the art demos.I'm more used to being behind a table than being an actual guest/attendee so I have not much idea what I would do...

Commento di Panserchu

on 2015-11-04T07:48:09-06:00

No Geoff Keighley? Man, so many changes this Blizzcon... And I'm not sure I'm liking any of this. No Jay Mohr or Chris Hardwick and no Geoff Keighley. I like my hosts unchanged please ):

Chris Hardwick will be making an important appearance at Blizzcon, just not as the host ;)

Commento di Sarraah

on 2015-11-04T09:44:41-06:00

The voice actor stage is what I really wish was included as a channel on the virtual ticket. I would really like to see that. I don't see why they don't include it.

Commento di nahteps

on 2015-11-04T19:26:15-06:00

Can someone tell me if with the Virtual Ticket I can pause the stream like the streams on youtube?For example, I can only start watching the stream 1 hour after it has started and if I could pause it right at the start and then resume when I was ready.

Commento di WyvernVJ

on 2015-11-05T11:53:16-06:00

Can someone tell me if with the Virtual Ticket I can pause the stream like the streams on youtube?For example, I can only start watching the stream 1 hour after it has started and if I could pause it right at the start and then resume when I was ready.

Yes you can ...once it has been aired, you can even go back if you missed something or pause if you need to go, say, get a sandwich or bio.

Commento di supermage

on 2015-11-05T15:12:23-06:00

Anyone know where we go to watch the stream if we ordered a virtual ticket? Will there be a section on the battle.net page? They don't give us much information about it after we order the ticket...

Commento di Domadora

on 2015-11-05T17:27:48-06:00

Because Mohr said stupid things against pregnant women in one of last year shows. Even his wife had an issue with it, and many companies canceled his services.

Commento di facelifter

on 2015-11-06T09:39:48-06:00

One this that sucks about stalking blizzard all the time is knowing everything before blizzcon ._. im basically hyped for the movie trailer..and some surprises if there are any (I hope there will be few tho!).

Commento di carwik149

on 2015-11-06T12:51:26-06:00

So looking foward to Legion :3

Commento di k3nj1

on 2015-11-06T12:53:51-06:00

i just want the mount :D

Commento di Megabucks

on 2015-11-06T13:08:38-06:00

Can someone tell me if with the Virtual Ticket I can pause the stream like the streams on youtube?For example, I can only start watching the stream 1 hour after it has started and if I could pause it right at the start and then resume when I was ready.

Yes it can, you can go back and watch whatever too.

Commento di plumpworm

on 2015-11-06T13:10:36-06:00

I can't wait for the movie, been wanting this for years.

Commento di Thronehunter

on 2015-11-06T13:12:16-06:00

i hope xpac will come as soon as possible

Commento di Rahxe

on 2015-11-06T13:15:55-06:00

Honestly, I just want to watch the full movie trailer!BRING ON THE TRAILER?No really, how much longer until we get to see it?